Preoperative Chemoradiation in the Management of Adenocarcinoma of the Body of the Pancreas

Abstract

Adenocarcinoma of the body of the pancreas has been traditionally associated with low resectability and poor prognosis. We reviewed 30 consecutive cases of pancreatic body adenocarcinoma presenting between 1988 and 2001. Twenty-six (87%) patients received preoperative chemotherapy (either 5-fluorouracil with or without mitomycin C or gemcitabine) plus radiation therapy (50.4 Gy), and four patients received chemoradiation postoperatively. During or shortly after chemoradiation 16 (53%) patients developed distant metastasis (n = 12), tumor progression (n = 2), or fatal septic complications (n = 2). Fourteen patients underwent surgical resection with curative intent. Resections performed included distal subtotal pancreatectomies (n = 6), extended pancreaticoduodenectomies (n = 6), and total pancreatectomies (n = 2). Ten patients (71%) required vascular reconstruction as a result of involvement of the portal vein or the superior mesenteric, hepatic arterial, or celiac vessels. Median overall survival was 34 months (range 8-152) for the resected group as compared with 8 months (range 1-14) in the unresected group (P = 0.005). Five-year actuarial overall survival is projected at 45 per cent for the resected group. In this poor-prognostic subset of patients with pancreatic cancer preoperative chemoradiation followed by an aggressive surgical approach was associated with resectability and long-term survival of a significant minority of patients.